Farewell California
by J.E. Smith
Summary: A short Country Bear Jamboree fic. After the closure of the Country Bear Playhouse, the bears pay their respects for the theater one last time...


**FAREWELL CALIFORNIA**

**by J.E. Smith**

**Disclaimer: The Country Bear Jamboree is copyright the Walt Disney Company.**

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**SEPTEMBER 10, 2001**

Henry was out early that morning, before the sun had even risen. He was walking around Critter Country for what would be the final time. So much had changed to the area of the park he had made in honor of his great-grandfather Ursus H Bear. The original cave Rufus lived in had been removed to make the Splash Mountain thrill ride. _Poor Rufus_, Henry thought. _Bein' forced to move out of the place he's lived at for so many years..._

He walked up to the trio of buildings that stood at the end of the walkway. The store that he had named after his grandfather had long since been turned into a shop named after Winnie-The- Pooh. The second building, an arcade that Henry had named after the bear who at the time had been his fiancée and who was now his wife, had not yet been altered. The portraits of Teddi Barra that were hanging outside the building would now be the only indication that the bears used to be there. Henry knew though, that it would only be a matter of time before the arcade would be gone too. Next to it was the Brer Bar, its doors hadn't been open in the longest time. There was also the Hungry Bear Restaurant, which would likely undergo a name change. Henry had wished the talks to get the Five Bear Rugs to come back and play there every now and then hadn't fallen through...

It was a dark day indeed. This would be the first day that the doors to the theater that Henry had dedicated to his great-grandfather would be permanently closed. He knew that this day would come. Over the past year or so there were rumors about the Playhouse getting torn down in favor of a Pooh ride. Even though nothing was in writing at the time, he knew it would happen. The Playhouse had been around for a long time, and public interest in the bears at California hadn't been the same like it was in '72. The bears hardly had any crowds in California any more, and Henry knew the time had come. However, the bears had a lot of fans against the closure, and protested against it, but even their efforts couldn't save it.

Henry felt sorry for the local fans that they had. With the Playhouse gone, they would have no choice but to go down to Florida to see them now. Those same fans came down to the bears' last show the previous night to make sure they got a good send-off. The packed house clapped, sang with them, gave huge rounds of applause to each performer, and, for the first time ever, they gave the bears a standing ovation at the end of the show. It was a bittersweet moment. Henry shed another tear as he heard the noise the CMs where making as they were boarding up the Playhouse's exit. They weren't going to wall up the entrance just yet because the bears were going to be moving their belongings and such out of the Playhouse in a few moments. He decided he had been out long enough. Besides, he needed to go help load his family and friend's baggage into the trucks.

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**A LITTLE WHILE LATER...**

"It's a funny likeness of you, ain't it Tenn?"

"Eh. I don't know why they made me look THAT goofy," Tennessee replied to his cousin Lemonade. The two cousins and Tennessee's wife Dakota were standing in front of the goofy statue of Tennessee that was near the Playhouse that was holding a sign in the shape of the Thing saying: "THAT-A-WAY TO THE COUNTRY BEAR PLAYHOUSE" with the statue pointing towards the theater.

"So, what are you gonna do with it now anyway? Takin' it back home with ya?"

"Nah, not yet. Henry wants it left up for a while. Then they're gonna rip it out and send it back to us."

"Yes, it'll be a good addition to our den," said Dakota.

"Yer den? Shouldn't you use it for the theater in Florida?"

"There ain't a good place in Froniterland to put it."

"Ah, I see."

"You sure you don't wanna come back to Florida with us, Lemon?" asked Dakota.

"You know I can't just yet. I still gotta do some publicity with the rest of the movie cast. The rest of 'em left last night, and they'll be waitin' for me."

"So I guess we have to part ways once again," said Tennessee.

"Yeah, I know. Of course, portrayin' my lil' cousin ain't exactly easy," Lemonade said as he nudged Tennessee's shoulder. "Shootin' a movie is tougher than ya think!"

"I'm sure. I guess th' next time we meet will be when the movie opens?"

"Maybe sooner. Who knows? Well, I'd better be movin' along. Take care, Tenn."

"You too, cousin."

"Bye, Lemonade," Dakota said as Lemonade walked away. As he did, Henry, Teddi, and their son Taylor walked up towards Tennessee and Dakota.

"Ah, there you two are!"

"Oh, Henry, are we leavin' now?" asked Tennessee.

"Almost. I'm havin' everyone gather for one last picture in front of the Playhouse first," said Henry. "The others'll be hear any minute, so be ready." Just then, Bunny and Bubbles came running out of the Playhouse entrance, down the bridge and towards them.

"Girls! Where's Beulah at?" Henry asked as they came up to him.

"We don't know," said Bubbles. "Right after we finished getting our stuff loaded on the truck, she just ran off!"

"She left these in our dressin' room," Bunny said, holding up a dress and a piece of paper. It read: _Girls, I have something I need to do. Take my dress and meet me in front of the Playhouse. I'll explain then. –Beulah._

"Why did she run off leavin' her dress behind?" Dakota asked. "She wouldn't be running around without anything on-"

Henry held out a paw and shook his head. "Nope! That ain't like her at all!"

"But what could of caused her to run off like that?" asked Teddi. "She knows we have to shoot the photo..."

"Hey, Dad, here she comes now!" said Taylor, spotting Beulah in the distance, wearing a long, white apron.

"Hey, what's that she's holding?" asked Dakota, noticing something in her paw.

As she came up closer, they could see it more clearly. They also noticed that she wasn't wearing anything BUT the apron.

"It looks like...a cup," said Bunny. Then she noticed a few green sploches in the apron. She, Henry, and Bubbles sighed. They knew what was inside the cup, and it was obvious where she had been.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Beulah said as she got up to them, panting.

"Oh Beulah, did you have to go out and get a Mint Julep?" Bubbles asked.

"Because I wanted one last drink before we left. Excuse me for a moment," She replied as she walked out to the front of the Playhouse. She looked up at the building, raised the cup high for a moment, and then took a swallow of her Julep. As Beulah took another sip, Henry chuckled. "I shoulda known that this was gonna be your way of sayin' goodbye."

"How did you get that made anyway?" Bunny asked. "I didn't think there'd be anyone workin' at th' Julep Bar at this hour."

"I broke in," Beulah replied after she took another sip. Everyone glared at her.

"Just kiddin'!" she added. "I had a guard unlock it for me. It was the only way I could get one now! Besides, we didn't have all the stuff to make one in the kitchen in the Playhouse."

"Well that explains th' apron then," said Tennessee. "Didn't want to get your dress all messed up, right?"

Beulah nodded as she continued to drink. Henry looked at her. "Beulah, why aren't you wearing anythin' underneath that? You could've put somethin' other than yer dress on..."

"All of my other clothes were already packed and loaded on the truck. I only had my dress left and I didn't want it to get stained before we got the picture taken. After all, you wanted us to look the best we could," she said with a grin.

Teddi glanced at her husband. "You did tell them that, Henry," she said with a smile.

"That I did. Listen Beulah, the others will be here any minute. Finish yer drink and get yer dress on, okay?"

"All right," she replied. She quickly finished drinking down what was left of the Julep, and tossed the cup in the trash can at the Playhouse bridge. Taking her dress from Bunny, she went over behind the Splash Mountain entrance to dress. While she did, Wendell and his family arrived. It was obvious they would get there before everyone else would, since Wendell had the camera. Then came the McGrowls, the rest of the Rugs, Terrence, Trixie, Gomer, Big Al, and then Ernest. Tennessee was surprised by this at first, expecting him to be last like usual.

Rufus ended up being the last out, but this was because he was carefully wheeling a piece of the Playhouse wall, that had Buff, Max, and Melvin attached to it.. At that time Beulah had returned, and Henry began having everyone take their places for the picture. Henry, his twin brother Hank, Teddi, and Taylor stood in front along with the rest of the smaller bears, and the taller ones stood in the middle and back. They all took the same spots they did when they took a photo of them in front of the Playhouse when it first opened. Wendell set the timer for the camera and took his place near Henry. "Okay say cheese," said Wendell. Everyone silently mouthed the word as the camera flashed. Every bear would get a copy of the photo of this sad event. After all this was done, the bears went back into the Playhouse for the last time so they could get to their vehicles behind them.

"Well I guess that's it," Hank said as the two walked. For the entire course of the Playhouse's years, Hank had taken the role of hosting the show when Henry wasn't there. Henry had asked Hank if he would come back to Grizzly Hall with him, but he decided to get out of the show business and concentrate on his family. "Yup. I'll see you around, Hank." The two hugged each other. "Just remember, in case you have to go away for a while, I'll always be there to fill in for you," said Hank. "Goodbye, Henry." He then walked a separate direction from Henry.

Henry sighed as he heard two CMs rushing from behind as he walked away. He knew that they were going to be hanging a "Closed" sign up in front of the Playhouse. As he walked, Henry wondered what the future held for them. He knew Grizzly Hall was going to be safe for a long time being. But he had a problem now that the Playhouse gone. Coming the next summer, a feature- length movie loosely based on them called "THE COUNTRY BEARS" would open, with his own son Taylor playing a character named Beary Barrington. He was planning to have his son and the cast of the movie to take over the shows at the Playhouse. Now he wasn't sure what he was going to do now, because he didn't really want them to replace the original Jamboree over at Grizzly Hall.

He also wanted to continue the Vacation Hoedown somehow. After all, there were fans out there that preferred it over the original Jamboree show. As Henry got into the car, he started to plan out his options. He had plenty of time for it. It was going to be a long flight home after all…


End file.
